South African police kill 34 miners

South African police said on Friday that 34 striking miners were killed after police opened fire on protesting workers, in the worst violence to afflict South Africa’s mining industry in recent years.

European Phoenix -- Frans Baleni, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, said union shop stewards had counted more than 36 people killed in the violence that erupted on Thursday at the Marikana platinum mine complex, which is operated by London-listed Lonmin, the world’s third-largest platinum producer.

But Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega said on Friday that 34 protesters had been killed, and that police had been forced to open fire to protect themselves when they were charged by strikers armed with “dangerous weapons”.

She told a news conference that 78 people had been injured and 259 arrested in Thursday’s violence. “The police members had to employ force to protect themselves from the charging group.” she said.

The clashes have shocked South Africa and the global mining industry as pictures of police lining up and opening fire on the mine workers have been broadcast, evoking memories of the violence that would erupt during apartheid.

Jacob Zuma, South African president, on Friday declared himself “shocked and saddened” by the violence and has curtailed a visit to neighbouring Mozambique to return home to address the crisis.

Mining is a key driver of the South African economy, and half the world’s top 20 mining companies have operations in the country. It has the world’s fifth-biggest mining sector by gross domestic product value, according to the Chamber of Mines.

It is also home to about two-thirds of the world’s proven platinum reserves and accounts for roughly 80 per cent of the world’s platinum production. The crisis at Marikana, which was triggered by a dispute between members of rival unions, has halted Lonmin’s production in South Africa.

The shooting erupted on Thursday after police apparently sought to disperse striking rock drill operators, who were armed with sticks, spears and machetes.

The violence began a week ago and 10 people, including two policemen, were killed in earlier clashes blamed on a dispute between the NUM and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union. Amcu is a new, more militant body that has attracted increasing numbers of members away from the NUM.

In response to the violence, hundreds of police have been deployed to the mine site in South Africa’s platinum rich Bushveld Complex.

Lonmin has already lost six days of production as a result of the violence, representing 15,000 platinum equivalent ounces. The company warned that it is now unlikely to meet its production target of 750,000 ounces for the year.

The violence at Marikana pushes the miner, already under strain from the falling platinum price, closer to a breach of its debt covenants, making an emergency fund-raising more likely. Lonmin shares fell 1.9 per cent to 636p on Friday, and are down 16 per cent since the start of the week.

“[We] expect Lonmin may have to restructure its debt...or seek additional funding, possibly through a rights issue,” said analysts at BMO Capital Markets, estimating that just a few more days of lost production could push the company close to breaching its banking covenants.

Adding to its problems, Lonmin also announced on Thursday that Ian Farmer, its chief executive, had been hospitalised with a serious illness.

Platinum prices rose to a one-month high of $1,457.24 a troy ounce on Friday, up nearly five per cent in two days, as the precious metal market digested the news of the bloodbath. The cost of the metal remains, however, under downward pressure due to falling consumption in Europe, where it is used to manufacture autocatalytic to clean up tailpipe emissions from diesel cars. Platinum prices peaked at nearly $2,300 in 2008.

Jackson Mthembu, spokesman for the governing African National Congress, said “all of us feel very saddened by the violence we have seen on television.” He called for a government inquiry into the killings.

The violence will hurt the image of South Africa’s broader mining sector, whichunderperformed its peers during the commodities boom because of infrastructure bottlenecks and policy uncertainty, exacerbated by a debate over the nationalisation of mines.

Unions played an important role in the struggle against apartheid and remain powerful in the country, with the Congress of South African Trade Unions a key member of the governing alliance led by the ANC.

Cosatu issued a statement on Thursday condemning the violence and calling on “workers to observe maximum discipline and unity in the face of a ruthless attempt to divide and weaken them.”

The NUM is a member of Cosatu. But as frustrations over poverty and inequality in the country have grown, Amcu has succeeded in recruiting dissatisfied workers. “Their [Amcu] track record is not a good one,” said Andrew Levy, labour relations and labour law consultant. “Where they have gone, there tends to be high levels of wildcat strikes, damage to equipment and violence.”

Mr Levy also said the government could be taking a more active role to end the dispute.